Citizens celebrate ‘true success story’ at the Alexander Inn

Tuesday

Nov 19, 2013 at 5:06 PM

The famous and not-so-famous have walked the hallowed halls of one of Oak Ridge’s most historic buildings and, with the newest efforts to revitalize it, the Alexander Inn will keep its historic qualities.

Beverly Majors/The Oak Ridger

The famous and not-so-famous have walked the hallowed halls of one of Oak Ridge’s most historic buildings and, with the newest efforts to revitalize it, the Alexander Inn will keep its historic qualities.

Those qualities include not only the front porch and its rocking chairs, but also the lasting memories of those who visited Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project era — physicists Enrico Fermi and J. Robert Oppenheimer, Major General Leslie Groves and a young senator named John F. Kennedy.

The Inn has sat in near ruins for decades — but no longer.

On Thursday, city, state and county officials, as well as Oak Ridgers, and others, got a glimpse of what is to be — the Inn with a new life, a new purpose.

Family Pride Corp. of Lenoir City plans to transform the Manhattan Project-era hotel into a state-of-the-art assisted living facility.

On Thursday, many people saw the beginning of that project when officials held “a formal groundbreaking press conference” to give neighbors and others “a unique opportunity” to see the early results of the rehabilitation process.

Mayor Tom Beehan talked about a photo taken after the war by Ed Westcott — in Jackson Square — then the town center.

“It was the gathering place,” the mayor said, adding the Alexander Inn revitalization will help in the revitalization of Jackson Square, in hopes of again making it a gathering place.

“Today, we celebrate the rebirth of the Alexander Inn,” Beehan said, calling the new assisted living facility “a place to age in place.”

Sue Cange, deputy manager for the Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, talked about the Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Energy that led to a $500,000 grant to East Tennessee Preservation Alliance for the purchase the K-25 site ($350,000) and partial stabilization ($150,000) of the Alexander Inn.

According to Cange, in November 2011 DOE convened stakeholders for the demolition of the East Tennessee Technology Park, which was historically known as K-25, where uranium was processed for the Manhattan Project. DOE had to offset the loss of the building by creating a comprehensive mitigation package to ensure the building’s legacy will survive beyond the demolition.

The MOA process included input from the National Park Service, the Tennessee Historical Commission, National Trust for Historic Preservation, the city of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Heritage Preservation Association (ORHPA), as well as others in an effort to put Oak Ridge and its historic sites into the Manhattan Project National Park. Those sites are to include the Alexander Inn.

“If the National Park legislation passes, the Alexander Inn will be a significant part of history," Cange said.

Patrick McIntyre, executive director of the Tennessee Historical Commission, said jokingly that the Alexander Inn “had all the history and none of the radiation.”

According to McIntyre, the MOA calls for the Alexander Inn to be restored within a certain timeframe and according to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Those standards ensure that the historic integrity of the building is maintained. Additionally, ETPA will hold a preservation easement to protect the building forever.

McIntyre said he traveled with city officials and others to Hanford, Wash., to talk about the project and mentioned the importance of the late city historian Bill Wilcox’s contribution to the project. Wilcox died earlier this year.

“Bill is with us today and is a part of this, too,” McIntyre said. “This is a true success story.”

Ethiel Garlington, director of Preservation Field Services for East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, also addressed the group Thursday, thanking all the people and agencies involved in the revitalization plan but said the “stars” of the show are Rick Dover and his team from Family Pride.

“I’ve never worked on a building so beloved,” Dover said.

Dover said once completed, the Alexander Inn will be open to the public, not just the residents.